Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 15:20:11 +0100 (BST)
From: Steve Rose
Subject: Martin Roberts/Party Games 11
DISCLAIMER:
This is a story. None of the characters in the story
exist and the events that take place are purely
imaginary.
Thanks to all of you who have emailed me with comments
and told me how much you enjoyed the first 'John'
story. This is the second one and there are more in
the pipeline, although there may be a delay as I'm on
vacation for the next few weeks.
WARNING:
Do not read this story if you are in any way offended
by acts of a homosexual nature.
Do not read this if you are under the legal age for
accessing adult sites.
Always indulge in safe sex.
Chapter 11
Martin arrived at the entrance to the Commissioner's
office at exactly five o'clock and was surprised to
see Sir Thomas standing waiting for him at the door.
Martin recognised what appeared to be a look of
triumph on the Commissioner's face as he was escorted
into the large office and offered a seat in one of the
comfortable chairs that adorned the room. In an
affable tone, Sir Thomas said,
"I'm glad to see you are punctual but even so I'm
afraid I can't offer you any refreshment as my
personal assistant has left for the day. Unless, of
course, you'd like a drop of whisky?"
Martin politely declined the offer but watched as the
Commissioner poured himself a large measure of whisky
and added the same amount of water. Once he had done
this, Sir Thomas came across the room and sat on the
other large chair, directly across from Martin. Once
he was settled, the Commissioner looked quizzically at
Martin, who slowly withdrew a file from under his arm.
Opening the file, the Commander carefully withdrew a
thin sheaf of paper, leaving a rather thicker set of
papers still in the file. Sir Thomas smiled
encouragingly but looked less than friendly as he
indicated that he was ready to receive the Commander's
report. Martin looked back with steely determination
and said,
"Sir, I have my written report that I have prepared on
the case of the murder of Nick Trafford. I will, of
course, give you the written report in a moment but I
hope that you will allow me to give you an oral
version as well."
Sir Thomas continued to smile but was inwardly annoyed
by Martin's request but saw no way to deny the
request,
"Very well, Commander, but make it short, I'm due to
report to the Home Secretary in less than an hour."
Martin smiled back at the Commissioner and said as
calmly as he could,
"I will, I hope sir, be as brief as possible, but I
would not want you to give the Home Secretary anything
other than the fullest briefing. I am ready to start
straight away, if you wish me to."
The Commissioner nodded his agreement and sat back as
Martin began his report. The first few minutes of what
the Commander reported was purely factual information
concerning the circumstances, place and cause of Nick
Trafford's death. This was old ground and Sir Thomas
showed signs of irritation at being told what he
already knew. Martin next gave a brief account of the
investigation and the discovery of the murder weapon
and the link to Ed Grantham and the interview that had
been conducted with the suspect. Sensing further
irritation growing in the Commissioner at the length
of his explanation to date, Martin decided that he had
better move on to the part Sir Thomas was waiting to
hear,
"I have reviewed the evidence in the case and have
also discussed the case with Ms Deborah Stokes of the
Crown Prosecution Service and she has agreed that we
can proceed with a case against Ed Grantham. As a
consequence, as I am making this report to you now,
Superintendent Mark Jamieson is formally charging Ed
Grantham with the murder of Nick Trafford. I have also
arranged for a short statement announcing the charge
to be released to the press within the next few
minutes."
On hearing these words, Sir Thomas clapped his hands
and said,
"Excellent news, Martin, excellent!! James Broadbent
will be delighted when I tell him what has happened. I
know we haven't seen eye to eye with him about the
Police Bill, but this is a good result and will
perhaps make him altogether less harsh on us in the
long run. I shall be delighted to hand over the file
to him when I see him and to update him on the arrest
and charges that have been brought. It seemed from
what I knew that it would be an open and shut case and
no chance of any charge of a miscarriage of justice if
the accused man is found guilty."
Martin shifted awkwardly in his seat as he reached to
withdraw the rather large file from the folder and
said,
"I wouldn't count your chickens, sir. I have told you
what I told Ms Stokes from the CPS and she has agreed
that we can proceed for the time being. However, I
have also handed to her this second file of evidence
that we have acquired during the course of the
investigation. I told Ms Stokes that the first file,
the one I just gave you, was the evidence that we
could prove beyond a doubt and could lead to a
conviction. On the other hand, I also told her that
this second file contains evidence that might give the
defence the opportunity to raise a successful
challenge to the charge as it stands. As you know
there is often a distinction between what we can prove
and what we know to be the facts of the case. This
time I believe it is working in favour of the
defendant. I am sure you would like me to summarise my
conclusions on this evidence, as I wouldn't want you
to be in for a nasty shock when you meet the Home
Secretary."
The expression on Sir Thomas' face had changed
markedly as Martin had been speaking. The smile had
faded and the face had clouded with anger as he
listened to the Commander. The Commissioner was now
furious but tried to maintain an air of calm
authority,
"You have given precisely what to the CPS?"
Martin looked calmly back at his superior officer,
"I gave Ms Stokes two files. One is the case against
Ed Grantham and the reasons we have for charging him
with murder. The second is the fullest account of the
enquiry that I can provide. I believe I have a duty to
justice to reveal everything so that the defence may
mount a proper case. I would rather do it voluntarily
than have it forced out at a later date. I have taken
legal advice and that is the conclusion I have come
to."
Sir Thomas recognised that the Commander was acting
responsibly but still was annoyed that he would now
have to be careful about making too boastful a claim
to the Home Secretary and so he looked at Martin
encouraging the officer to continue. Martin took the
hint,
"If I may, I would like to sketch in some background
very briefly and then proceed to the facts as I
understand them. I believe that the murder of Nick
Trafford was carefully planned and, up to a point,
brilliantly executed. Everything was in place to
remove a thorn from the government's side but as ever
in these matters things did not go exactly to plan.
The first method to be tried was the age-old method of
dangling government office in front of an ambitious
politician. Nick would certainly have accepted and was
being vetted by Special Branch with this solution in
mind. He was also being kept an eye on by the MP whose
office he shared on the promise that he too would get
preferment as a consequence. All seemed to be going
well until a bombshell struck.
"This problem arose following the revelation that Nick
Trafford was investigating the Winston Callendar case.
I'm sure you are aware that this case involved a man
being set up to take the wrap in a rape case, while
the real guilty party was allowed to escape justice.
In normal circumstances this would be bad enough but
it was even worse than that. The lawyer primarily
involved in this matter was none other than Rachel
Ferns, who, as you know, is married to the Home
Secretary. If Mr Trafford revealed what he knew about
this case or got to the truth about it, it would be
devastating to the government in general and James
Broadbent in particular, especially as he had made so
much of highlighting police misconduct and
miscarriages of justice. If bringing him into the
government on the promise that he would keep quiet
about the case could not stop Nick Trafford, then he
would have to be stopped in another way. This is when
the plot to remove him permanently was, I believe,
hatched.
"The first requirement was that Mr Trafford should be
lured to somewhere where he could be disposed of
quietly and efficiently. This was easy. Hampstead
Heath was a well-known cruising ground for gays, if
the MP was killed there it could easily be passed off
as a gay bashing incident. Even better, it should be
possible to have the deed done by someone with a
record for just such crimes. If this was achieved,
then Nick Trafford's name could be further blackened
by revelations about his private life. In both these
matters, Special Branch or parts of it could be used
most effectively. First, they would be able to find a
suitable killer and second they would feed a
sympathetic journalist some dirt on the MP's sexual
life. Finally, it would be necessary to plant enough
clues and even the Metropolitan police would be able
to solve the case without much trouble.
"On the day that he died, Nick Trafford was given some
intriguing information and asked to meet the informant
on Hampstead Heath before travelling on to his
political meeting and the debate with me on
television. The MP took a document case with him in
expectation of receiving some files and met his
informant as arranged. The informant was none other
than Ed Grantham who, under instruction, bludgeoned
the MP to death, but not being sure what to do about
the document case thought that it would help if he
stole it and disposed of it after he made his escape.
A few minutes later Mrs Muriel Powell, who was out
walking her dog, found the body. Police were called
and then we got involved and everything seemed to be
going to plan. The newspapers quickly got the name of
the victim and as expected stories about Mr Trafford
were generated and our enquiries were drawing a blank
as to motive. The idea that Mr Trafford had been
killed in a gay cruising spot in an assignation that
went wrong or was the result of gay bashing was firmly
planted. Furthermore we soon recovered the murder
weapon and the fingerprints matched a known criminal
and one with a record of violence against gay people.
What could be simpler, case closed!
"I was forced to agree with all this but I felt
everything was too pat, too easy. Then we got a
breakthrough and one that blew the lines of
investigation apart. Someone had seen the MP on
Hampstead Heath and seen him carrying the document
case. The witness, a young man out cruising the area
had been reluctant to come forward but did his duty in
the end. Now there was another motive for the murder,
robbery. Not only that but what could have been in the
case that was worth stealing? I now believe the case
was empty and that the file on Winston Callendar was
removed by David Newman or more likely Colin Smart on
the morning after the murder. Provided we did not get
onto the Callendar case the fiction that this was a
robbery and a gay bashing or both could be sustained.
Although the witness was damaging to the conspirators
it was still not fatal, but then I got onto the
Callendar case and things began to spiral out of
control."
Sir Thomas had winced loudly at the word
`conspirators' but did not say anything. The colour
had drained from his face and he said nothing but
indicated that Martin should continue. Martin nodded
and went on,
"Someone decided that the best way to stop the
investigation was to remove the evidence by removing
the witness. Somehow, and I suspect it was by using
sexual attraction, a person was introduced to the
witness and managed to get into a position whereby he
was allowed to stay at the pub where he worked. I
believe that the man blown up in the car on the M1 was
the person who set fire to the pub and killed its
occupants. The people who organised this part of the
conspiracy also made sure that their assassin was not
captured or in a position to spill the beans by
disposing of him as soon as they could. The man that
we know as Jason Smart was set up to murder the
witness we had and then, in turn, was blown up in his
car. No trail, no witness, no survivors. Whoever
organised all this knew that I could not pursue the
case without more evidence and that was not going to
come out of the investigation especially as there were
deadlines and pressure was mounting for an early
arrest."
This time, Sir Thomas did interrupt,
"You are not suggesting, I hope Commander, that I was
party to a conspiracy?"
Martin waited a moment before he answered then slowly
shook his head,
"No, sir, I am not, but I believe that you were used
to put pressure on the investigation unwittingly.
There were some pieces of information that were know
only to a relatively few people, namely me and my
squad, you and the senior politicians. Once it became
clear that if the full story got out it would
embarrass the government and James Broadbent in
particular I came to the conclusion that the source of
the leak lay in that direction."
The Commissioner again interrupted,
"And you have written all this down and given it to
the CPS?"
Martin smiled as he realised that Sir Thomas was
beginning to calculate the damage the report would do
to his personal position,
"I have written the facts of the investigation down,
sir. The conclusions I leave to others to draw. I have
given you my interpretation of those facts, others, I
suppose, could draw different conclusions and place
the blame elsewhere but I would stand by my
interpretation."
Sir Thomas sighed slightly and then asked,
"Do you expect me to give this second report to the
Home Secretary?"
This time it was Martin, who sighed before saying,
"My report implicates and names nobody, sir. However,
you must decide whether to give it to Mr Broadbent in
full or simply warn him that evidence has been
uncovered that might mean that the case against Ed
Grantham is put in jeopardy. It will after all be up
to the CPS to decide whether to prosecute the accused
man for murder or some other charge. I would say that
the Home Secretary is bound to find out sooner or
later but he will know as you, the CPS and I all know
that we cannot prove any of it."
"Do you think the CPS will drop the charges?" Sir
Thomas asked quietly.
"They might come under strong political pressure to do
so, but this is a high profile case and either way the
government will be in trouble."
The Commissioner looked at his watch and said,
"I'm due to see James Broadbent in less than fifteen
minutes. I think I need some time to decide exactly
how to play this."
Martin took the hint, rose from his chair and walked
towards the exit. As he reached the door, the
Commander turned and said,
"I realise that this is a difficult problem for you,
but that is often the nature of these sensitive cases.
Thank you for listening and, may I say, I have every
confidence that you will make the right decision."
Without waiting for a reply, Martin left and walked
quickly back to his office. If people were surprised
to see their Commander back and in reasonably good
spirits, they did not show it. Martin went straight
into his office and closed the door. A moment later
Mark Jamieson knocked and went inside.
"Well?" Mark asked without further ado.
Martin smiled at his friend and said,
"I told the Commissioner the full facts of the case as
we have discovered them. I told him the bits we could
prove and that the reports are in the hands of the
CPS. I left him thinking over what he was going to
tell the Home Secretary. What I did not say is that
there are also copies of my reports with my solicitor
and a number of other trusted friends. If anything
happens to me, these people will know what to do."
Mark looked concerned for his friend and Commander,
"Do you seriously think someone might try to do
something to you? You haven't been suspended or
removed have you?"
Martin smiled broadly,
"I've not been suspended or removed but so far the
people behind Nick Trafford's murder have acted quite
ruthlessly to undermine the investigation and prevent
the truth from emerging. Although I have a pretty
shrewd idea who is behind all this, they and I know
that I have no proof. It's a kind of stalemate. If
they took me out then they run the risk of exposing
the conspiracy and their attempts to cover it up."
"Who can I tell about this?" Mark asked in a concerned
manner.
"Only Mike and Aly, for the time being. Let's wait and
see what happens. I want to thank you for your support
during this time, Mark and then I will publicly thank
Mike, Aly and the rest of the squad as well as the
press squad for their support during the
investigation. After that, I'm off home to build
bridges with Tom, Simon and Harry."
Martin got up and walked with Mark to the door of his
office. As he emerged members of the squad sensed the
need for quiet and Martin addressed them, thanking
each of them for their efforts and singling out
something positive to say about the contribution of
each member of the squad. The Commander did the same
in the Press and Public Relations Office and, for the
second time that evening, was given a spontaneous
round of applause as he turned and left.
Martin made it home in good time. For once the
Underground was running on time and the journey took
him less time than usual. Harry heard the key in the
lock and ran to greet Martin, closely followed by
Simon and Tom. Martin hugged the two boys and then
kissed his partner and walked into the living room
where Tom poured them both a large glass of wine and
gave the children fruit juice. To Tom's anxious look,
Martin simply said,
"I think it's going to be all right."
Later, when the children had gone to bed, Martin told
his lover the whole story. Tom was shocked by what had
been uncovered and fearful that Martin's earlier
reassuring words might not be as realistic as his
older partner thought.
In bed that night, Tom initiated a lovemaking session.
Kneeling astride his lover, the younger man kissed his
way down Martin's chest and teased his nipples before
moving further down towards his belly button. Nuzzling
his lips through the older man's pubic hairs, Tom
allowed his tongue to lick up the thick, hard shaft
towards the cut prick head that craved his oral
attention. Tired though he was Martin's cock was
already producing pre-cum and Tom expertly teased as
much as he could from the piss slit and began to
spread it over the velvety cock head. The older man
moaned with pleasure as his lover swallowed the length
into his mouth and down his throat and Martin tried to
move position so that he could return the favour on
Tom's cock. The younger man remained where he was and
insisted with his reaction that he was going to
continue as he was. Tom eased his lips back up
Martin's rampant shaft and then lifted himself up so
that he could slide his willing hole onto his lover's
pre-cum and saliva covered prick head. The older man
loved to be ridden by his younger lover and groaned
with pleasure as he felt the head of his cock push
through the welcoming entrance to Tom's love channel.
Very slowly, Martin felt his prick being devoured by
the younger man's hole until he finally felt Tom's
arse cheeks resting on his stomach. The older man
could look down and see his lover's cock, hard and
throbbing as it lay across his upper stomach and
Martin reached down to play with the hard shaft,
gently covering and uncovering the head with its loose
foreskin. As he played with his lover's cock, the
older man moaned with pleasure,
"Oh Tom, it feels soo good having my prick so deep
inside your warm and welcoming hole!!"
Tom grinned down at his partner and replied,
"Yes, Marty, for me too and it feels soo right having
your beautiful hard dick inside me!!"
As he spoke, the younger man began to work himself
back up the hard shaft that impaled him until only the
head was still inside his sphincter. As Tom moved up
his lover's cock, his own dick pushed up against the
grasping hand of his partner, who held it firmly. The
process was then reversed and Tom pushed back down
again and the cock in Martin's hand pulled back down
as well. As the riding up and down increased in speed
and intensity, both men were being stimulated to the
point of no return. Martin could feel his prick begin
to tremble as the ball fluid began to build up in
preparation for its dash to his piss slit and the
older man was equally aware that his lover was also
fast approaching a similar feeling. Neither man wanted
the lovemaking to end but each craved the pleasure of
release. Martin could not hold back much longer, the
tightness of Tom's arse muscles milking his prick was
overwhelming and the older lover surrendered to the
pleasure of the moment,
"I'm cumming .. Tom .. I'm CUMM .. ING!!!"
Martin fired his hot spunk deep inside his lover's
welcoming love channel and felt Tom squeeze his
pulsating dick even tighter. As the younger man
released his own shower of jizz that flew up out of
his piss slit and landed on the older man's chest, he
responded through laboured breaths,
"And .. so .. am I!!!"
Tom slumped forward on top of Martin trapping his
sticky spunk between the two of them and murmured,
"I love you Marty!!"
Martin bent forward and kissed his lover and
whispered,
"I love you more than anything in the world!!"
Tom moved slightly and scooped up some of the sticky
jizz that lay on both their bodies and offered some to
his lover who licked the offered nectar into his
mouth. When Martin had sucked his fingers clean, the
younger man scooped up a second load and slipped his
fingers into his own mouth and did the same as his
partner. Sighing contentedly, Tom slipped off his
lover's body and lay down quietly by his side and
together the two men drifted off to sleep.
Despite the exertions of their lovemaking, Martin
slept fitfully and was awake long before the alarm
went off. Tom had, as usual, slept like a log but the
older man had awoken with his head full of concerns
for what might happen in the wake of the report he had
given to the Commissioner and Sir Thomas' subsequent
meeting with the Home Secretary. The fact that he had
not received a phone call the previous evening could
be regarded as a positive sign, but Martin was still
apprehensive over how matters would be resolved.
Martin moved back into the bedroom and quietly went
into the shower and got himself ready for the day.
Once dressed, he went into the kitchen and prepared
some coffee and laid the table for breakfast. It would
soon be time to rouse Harry and Simon and get them
ready for school. Taking the coffee in to his partner,
Martin placed a cup on the bedside table and gently
roused Tom from his slumbers. The younger man was
rather groggy but acknowledged the presence of the
steaming cup of coffee before slumping back
semi-conscious on his pillow. Martin went in to wake
the boys, who were up, out of bed and racing to the
shower as soon as he roused them.
Martin returned to the kitchen to start the breakfast
proper but was interrupted by the ringing of the
phone. Picking up the receiver, Martin said,
"Roberts."
"Good morning, sir", Mike Rickwood's voce came down
the line, "I thought you mike like to know that we
have just received a call from Ed Grantham's
solicitor. He wishes to see us urgently as he has some
new evidence, which he claims will clear his client
entirely."
Martin smiled a knowing smile to himself as he thought
that this was a very clever move and then replied,
"Tell Mr Clifford that I will be in shortly before
eight thirty and I will see him in my office at that
time."
Mike Rickwood responded,
"Will do, sir. Any idea what this new evidence is?"
Martin said grimly in reply,
"I expect it will be some rock solid alibi evidence."
Martin's was not far from the truth. As he told Tom
later that day, when the Commander arrived at Scotland
Yard, he was informed that Gordon Clifford was already
there and grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Martin decided
to let him wait for a short while before taking Mike
Rickwood with him to meet the accused man's solicitor.
Gordon Clifford was not a man to waste time or to
spend much energy on rubbing salt into a wound. As
soon as Martin and Mike had sat down, the solicitor
produced two pieces of paper and laid them on the desk
in front of him and said,
"I have here two sworn statements which give my client
an alibi. The first is from a Mrs Dolly Brady, with
whom my client had a liaison. My client did not
mention this matter before because he wished to
protect Mrs Brady, who happens to be the wife of one
of his oldest friends and he had promised her that he
would never allow her name to be associated with him.
However, on hearing that my client had been charged
with murder on the very night when he and she were
together in a hotel room in Clacton, Mrs Brady made
the brave decision to come forward and clear Mr
Grantham's name. The second statement is from Mr Roger
Grace, the manager of the sea View Hotel in Clacton,
who confirms that Mr Grantham and Mrs Brady were
guests at his hotel and, at the time of the murder,
they were having a drink in the bar."
Martin picked up the two statements and read them
through before handing them to Mike Rickwood. The
Commander looked straight at the solicitor and said,
"Naturally, I shall need to have this information
verified."
"Naturally", Gordon Clifford repeated nodding his
head, "but I believe you will find it checks out and
that later this morning I shall be applying to the
court for the immediate release of my client and the
dropping of all charges."
Martin nodded but left unspoken the fact that everyone
present at the meeting knew that the `alibi evidence'
was a fabrication. Despite the fingerprint evidence on
the metal piping that had killed Nick Trafford, the
Commander knew that the alibi evidence would be enough
to scupper the chances of a successful prosecution.
Without emotion, Martin said quietly,
"I expect you will and I am certain that, under those
circumstances, your request would be granted. I never
thought of Mr Grantham as such an honourable man. I
will bear this in mind and try to remember it next
time our paths cross, as I'm sure they will."
Gordon Clifford did not respond but merely got up from
the table, turned towards the door and walked out.
As was predicted, later that morning the Crown offered
no evidence in the case against Ed Grantham and he was
released from custody immediately.
Martin had expected to have some feedback from the
Commissioner but surprisingly this did not come until
shortly after lunch when he received a brief message
requesting him to go to the Commissioner's office at
three.
Shortly before three, the Commander was at the
entrance to Sir Thomas Brown's office and waited for
the invitation to enter. The Commissioner's personal
assistant gave Martin an encouraging smile as he
waited and then the door opened and he was summoned
inside. Sir Thomas sat behind his large desk and
nodded to Martin and indicated that the Commander
should sit down,
"I gave your reports to the Home Secretary last night.
To say that he was stunned by what you had found out
is an understatement. I told him very firmly that you
had my full support in making these reports and told
him that you had, quite properly, shared the
information with the CPS. I do not think that he had
been prepared for either of those two pieces of
information. He told me that he regarded you and your
-- er partner, Tom, as friends. I told him that you
were a professional and always did a thorough job
without fear or favour. At the end of our conversation
he told me that he fully understood and that he knew
what he must do."
Martin thanked the Commissioner for telling him what
had happened and, in return, briefed Sir Thomas on the
events that had led to the release of Ed Grantham. The
Commissioner said,
"I think that confirms your suspicions and your second
report and, to be honest, I don't think it is quite
the end of the matter. I told you some time ago that I
wanted you to do the two jobs as head of the Special
and Sensitive Crimes squad and Press and Public
Relations. I've had a change of heart. I believe you
have shown the need to have someone like you in charge
of the special squad and I am hereby relieving you of
command of the Press and Public Relations unit.
Superintendent Alder will take over command with
immediate effect. Incidentally, I notice that you are
due for some leave, so I would like to suggest that
you take it as soon as possible and then take over the
reins at your unit when you return. Until then I see
no reason why Superintendent Jamieson and Chief
Inspector Rickwood should continue to run the squad."
Martin thanked the Commissioner for his support and
the decision he had made and indicated that he would
indeed take the leave that was owed to him and go on
holiday with his partner and their children. The
Commissioner nodded and it became clear that the
interview was over.
Martin returned to the squad room and, having told his
most trusted colleagues what had happened, the news
spread like wildfire around the other officers in both
the Special and Sensitive cases squad and in the Press
and Public Relations unit. By way of celebration,
Martin invited everyone to the local pub for a drink
and they were all sitting together in the bar when Ron
Alder came in to join them. Martin immediately got up
to congratulate his colleague and to buy him a drink.
As he stood at the bar Martin glanced at the
television that was on the wall just to one side of
him. At that very moment a newsflash appeared on the
screen alongside a picture of James Broadbent, the
Home Secretary and Martin strained to hear what was
being said. The newsreader's voice was barely audible,
"In shock move tonight, only hours after his Police
and Justice Bill finally passed all its parliamentary
stages, Home Secretary James Broadbent has resigned
from the Government. In an exchange of letters, Mr
Broadbent told the Prime Minister that he believed
that the new Act would be a lasting monument to his
time at the Home Office and be a great credit to the
Government but that he now wished to spend more time
with his wife and growing children. The Prime Minister
in reply paid tribute to the major contribution the
Home Secretary had made to the work and policies of
his political party both in government and in
opposition. The Prime Minister added that he
understood the reasons for Mr Broadbent's decision but
expressed the hope that he would one day return to the
forefront of British public life."
Martin paid for the drinks and hurried over to his
group of fellow Police Officers to tell them the news.
Mark Jamieson looked across at his friend and said
quietly,
"Well, I suppose we should regard that as a result."
Martin nodded and said,
"Of a sort, but not the cleanest way to end a case."
Mark agreed with his colleague but still regarded the
outcome as a vindication of his friend's persistence
and his unwillingness to be manipulated.
At that moment, Martin's phone rang and he answered
it. The caller was his partner, Tom,
"I expect you've heard the news, Martin. James
Broadbent has resigned!"
"Yes, I have Tom and I'm sorry that it ended this way
especially as he was a friend." Martin replied,
without a hint of triumphalism.
Tom responded instantly,
"No, Marty, you were right to stick to your guns.
After what you told me last night and at lunchtime
yesterday I have no doubt that you have done the right
thing and so, in his way, has James. Where are you at
the moment, it sounds very noisy?"
Martin had to speak loudly over the noise,
"I'm at the pub. I've just lost one job and regained
my old one!! In addition, I've got some good news for
you and the boys. I am going to take a short break and
we can all go on holiday together. I think the school
term ends very soon and we could think tonight about
where we might all want to go."
"I'm sorry I can't join you at the pub because of the
children", Tom said, "but don't stay too late and then
we can have our own private celebration after we've
had a round table on where to take our break!!"
Martin smiled to himself and said,
"If that's the option I won't be here very long. See
you later! Love you!"
"Love you, too", came the reply from Martin's partner.
The Commander knew that it was not the ideal way to
complete a case without an arrest and the prospect of
a successful prosecution, but he knew that this was
the best result he could hope for. The resignation of
the Home Secretary had removed a potential source of
embarrassment to the Government and the political
party that, ironically, Martin supported. On the other
hand, despite his suspicions, the Commander knew that
there was absolutely no chance of pursuing the matter
after the alibi evidence had been produced that would
end the case against Ed Grantham. Martin had become
unwittingly involved in a political game and had
disliked the way in which he had been used. Like the
rest of his team, the Commander was more than discrete
when it came to investigations, but he would always
act honestly and would never show any favouritism. To
Martin, politics was a private matter and should never
interfere with his professional duty and anyone who
presumed otherwise would be, as James Broadbent had
found to his cost, making a grave mistake. Although
inwardly annoyed that he had been used in a political
game, the Commander rejoined his friends from the
Special and Sensitive cases squad for a short while
longer. Then, after leaving some money behind the bar
to pay for more drinks, Martin made his excuses and
left the others still celebrating.
As he was returning home, Martin though first about
possible places the four of them could go to have a
break from work and school. The Commander knew that
his preferred choice of a city-based holiday would not
be popular with the children or with Tom. Martin
resigned himself to at least the probability that he
would be going on a beach holiday. Soon the London
Underground Station nearest his home arrived and
Martin got off the train and walked quickly to where
Tom was waiting to give him a homecoming he would
never forget.
That's the end of this story. There are others in the
pipeline. Please let me know if you like this format.
If you liked this story or have any comments please
let me know thanks cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk